Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 3, 2002, the Los Angeles Times featured an article on UCLA Medical Center's Spiritual Care Unit. The unit is "the hospital's chaplaincy training program... The full-time staff [at the hospital] includes a priest, a minister and a rabbi, with Muslims and Buddhists on call. Fifteen years ago, when the program was new, the full-time staff consisted of one Baptist minister... These days, religious diversity is redefining hospital chaplaincy work. While the patient directory at UCLA is usually about 65% Christian, the number...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On March 2, 2002, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "about 60 Atlanta community leaders from across the religious spectrum met... to get to know each other's faiths... The assembly was an outgrowth of a group started by President Eisenhower in the 1950s. The national American Assembly... meets biannually to debate and form consensus around U.S. policy... The regional assembly is new. Its first topic was planned long before Sept. 11 --- back when leaders decided to tackle the increasing...

Source: Star Tribune

On February 23, 2002, The Star Tribune reported that "the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the main religion in Utah, but other faiths - among them Judaism, Buddhism and even Hare Krishnas [ISKCON] - have found a place in the mountains... the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple... This Hindu temple, with 350 families actively worshipping, is flourishing... In the shadow of the Delta Center, home to Olympic figure skating, sits the Buddhist Temple of Salt Lake City, one of 16 Buddhist centers in the state... It's a...

Source: The Denver Post

On February 22, 2002, The Denver Post featured a report that "stung by criticism of limits on worship space at Stapleton, the Interfaith Council at Stapleton will draw up a list of restrictions so religious leaders can at least know the ground rules from the beginning... Letters will be sent soon to hundreds of religious organizations that may want to build worship centers, said Landri Taylor, a spokesman for Forest City Inc., which is developing the former Stapleton airport... The amount of land churches, synagogues, mosques...

Source: The Seattle Times

On February 16, 2002, The Seattle Times reported that Joy Carey, a founder of Mystical Chant, expected about 400 people to attend the first daylong interfaith chanting event in 1999. However, "about 800 people came to St. Mark's Cathedral to watch and participate in Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist chants. "We were absolutely amazed at the number of people who showed up," said Carey, a counseling psychologist and Sufic Muslim. "I never expected this to be an annual event." Indeed, next Saturday marks the third...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On February 9, 2002, the Los Angeles Times reported that "in a bid to thwart a lawsuit that 'threatens to shut down an entire religion,' the Hare Krishna movement said this week that it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection later this month... The International Society for Krishna Consciousness announcement comes in response to the recent filing of a $400-million child abuse lawsuit in a Texas state court... Plaintiffs aim to hold a range of Krishna institutions liable for sexual, emotional and physical abuse...

Source: Star Tribune

On February 9, 2002, the Star Tribune reported that "ever since Sept. 11 the United States has seen a resurgence of sensitivity to and expressions of civil religion - we value service, cooperation, equality of justice and opportunity, respect for diversity and national symbols and ideas... The Rev. Peg Chemberlin, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Churches, said, 'Part of what we're seeing is a firm commitment to the celebration of religious pluralism. In that it's a central value of a democracy'... Chemberlin said, '...

Source: The Oregonian

On February 1, 2002 The Oregonian featured an editorial on a meeting in Clatskanie, OR that was "sponsored by a Portland-based Zen Buddhist group, the Zen Community of Oregon, to explain its plans to remodel a former elementary school into a monastery and seminary. But many objected to adding the Zen sanctuary to the community's eight churches... 'Our goal is to protect those that have not yet accepted Christ,' said Loren Dummer, the Assembly of God pastor. He worried that that the Zen Buddhists, who are not evangelical, would try to...

Source: Star Tribune

On January 26, 2002, the Star Tribune reported that "reflecting a national trend, Minnesota's small private college students are increasingly interested in religion as an academic study and in seeking private faith answers. This comes after decades of secularization of the colleges, but also shows the new diversity of faiths on every campus... For several decades many small colleges, facing rising costs and tougher competition for students and an increased diversity in student populations, turned away from their close ties with the...

Source: The Bergen Record

http://www.bergen.com/news/peace200201263.htm

On January 26, 2002, The Bergen Record featured the story "Hackensack: Prayer gathering mirrors service in Assisi, Italy." It reported, "The prayers were voiced in the traditions of more than a half-dozen religious movements, but all had the same theme: a call for religions to foster peace on earth and end human suffering. The Interfaith Prayer Vigil held Thursday night at Hackensack's Church on the Green...

Source: The Sacramento Bee

http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/1529339p-1605806c.html

On January 26, 2002, The Sacramento Bee featured the story "A Plea For Peace: Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs join in rally at Capitol." It reported, "While speakers used a bullhorn to exhort California's leaders to work for peace on the Indian subcontinent, interviews with rally participants showed agreement that crossed religious and ethnic lines." One participant, Punam...

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On January 25, 2002, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "as diverse a religious gathering as Pittsburgh ever sees came to what participants called 'our little piece of Assisi' last night to join their prayers for peace with those of Pope John Paul II and religious leaders from around the world... Catholic Bishop Donald Wuerl came first down the aisle of the chapel of the Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale, where 125 people had gathered. After him came veiled Muslim women, a Baptist minister, Jewish leaders, a Zen...

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On January 23, 2002, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that "leaders of more than 20 faiths and denominations in the St. Louis region will gather tonight to reflect on the call to peace found in their respective scriptures... Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, Sikh and Ba'hai leaders will enter the sanctuary of the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica and individually read from their scripture about peace... Archbishop Justin Rigali, past chairman of the Cabinet of the Interfaith Partnership of Metropolitan St....

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On January 8, 2002, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, the man who preached non-violence and helped bring independence to India, will be placed in the gardens of the Milwaukee County Courthouse in Wisconsin. The statue, "a replica of the Gandhi statue in front of the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., is being donated by the Wisconsin Coalition of Asian Indian Organizations. The group is raising $50,000 to pay for and maintain the statue. County Board members recently accepted the...

Source: The Tampa Tribune

On January 7, 2002, The Tampa Tribune reported that "since it opened in 1994, the Hindu Temple of Florida lacked a significant religious and architectural element: a gopuram... The gopuram - a majestic, pyramidlike tower - should have spiraled nearly seven stories toward the heavens, calling worshipers to the sanctuary. But lack of money prevented its construction... Temple leaders compare the lack of a gopuram to a church having no steeple... 'It is something that stands as the centerpiece of a village,' said Ramanuja C. Kannan of...